That is the wrong "Pinhead."

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iClone 7... Character Creator... Substance Designer/Painter... Blender... Audacity...
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Nice question!
You can learn about pinhead here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinhead_(Hellraiser)

Thanks

I am working on re-establishing a web site for Pinhead.
I have purchased several Pinhead domains and have them all pointing to PinheadHQ.com
I have just started setting up the site but I am mostly working on collecting info (i.e. history, past contest/project info and video links) to put on the site.
Mostly from the Wayback Machine but if anyone has anything to contribute it would be welcomed.
I'll announce it when it is ready to go live.

Jeff


Get my Plugin Manager and TaskNotes plugins for iClone.
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Some participants did use recurring characters in their stories, but "officially" he was on his own.

Gerry

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System: Win 10 Pro (21H2), Asus X99-E WS, CPU i7-5930K -3,5 GHz, 32 GB DDR4 2666-16 RAM, NVidia GTX 1080 Ti GPU - 11 GB VRAM(Driver Studio-536.99), Samsung 850 Pro 512 GB SSD, 6 TB HD storage.

Animagic - LOL!.... I love the lighting to this one, and the tippy-toe action.  
I feel like there is a tension in these, and we see Pinhead navigating that tension, which winds up being funny, but tense at the same time. 
And then that tension is broken by some unexpected event, and Pinhead's reaction to it creates the lighthearted joke. 
But like, he's not really the joke himself, more like his involvement with, or proximity to, the unexpected event is what makes it funny. 

Were there in the past other recurring side characters, or was he always the prime focus? 
 

Even though the Committee has faded away, a few members have been organizing their own contests/initiatives. One is a Halloween-based theme organized by Colour (Peter), another one is Christmas-oriented and organized by Gerskey (cancelled for this year).

Dennis and I have cooperated on a few Halloween ones, as I have more time, and he has better ideas...:P

Here is the one from last year:

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THANK YOU for your interest.   :)


About the "rights" and ownership...

Alley (of "Fashion Alley" iClone clothing supplier) is one of the original members, and her husband Walter was the artist who created the original 2D Pinhead.  It was a few years after Pinhead's creation that we held a "contest" to give him a first name, and after a vote (open to everyone), the winning name was Walter Phineas Pinhead.


About who can make videos...

Anyone, and anytime!

I don't know if there will be another official project sponsored by the remaining (but silent) committee members, but we have had some unofficial projects, most often Christmas or Halloween projects.  You can always make a Pinhead project any time on your own.

"We" (his fans) do request that people be respectful of the Pinhead character.  He is much more than an avatar or an actor.  Consider putting the James Bond character in a romantic comedy; that just wouldn't be right.  Pinhead has had some growth as an actor, but it is appreciated by his adoring fans if he doesn't stray too far from his core personality.

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iClone 7... Character Creator... Substance Designer/Painter... Blender... Audacity...
Desktop (homebuilt) - Windows 10, Ryzen 9 3900x CPU, GTX 1080 GPU (8GB), 32GB RAM, Asus X570 Pro motherboard, 2TB SSD, terabytes of disk space, dual  monitors.
Laptop - Windows 10, MSI GS63VR STEALTH-252, 16GB RAM, GTX 1060 (6GB), 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD

OMG those are awesome!
And thanks so much for this, a great read indeed!

I was so confused because multiple parties were making the videos, I was unsure what the underlying 'rights' to the character were. 
Anyone can make them, or is it something like a select community commemorating its Pinnacle roots with these videos. 

Pinhead's origin was in the Pinnacle Studio user forum, way back when we were busy editing home videos of our vacations and stuff like that.  ("Pin" from Pinnacle, combined with some self-effacing humor, since the term "Pinhead" can be used as an insult, similar to calling someone an idiot .)  Pinnacle actually blessed the projects, allowed us to use their logo on his shirt pocket, and generously provided prizes for our community projects/contests.

Given that origin, he was a simple 2D cut-out.  In fact, he was actually a cardboard cut-out used as a prop in a few videos, but usually he was an overlay.  His "animation" was extremely limited.  Gradually people started to use iClone to animate a 3D version of him.  The videos were always "story-based," and were not intended to be limited to specific software.  Even today you could make a Pinhead video using any tools.  In fact, one person actually did a Claymation video, and a young teen did a live-action video with his dad wearing a Pinhead mask!

His personality is important to us long-time Pinhead fans.  Although he has "grown up" a little bit, and has had some dramatic moments, mostly he is a plucky, somewhat naive, and always a good-hearted soul.  There tends to be a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor in many of his videos.  Things often "happen" to him, yet in his own bumbling way, he tends to find a happy ending.  He also tends to talk to himself, "narrating" his own actions.  ("Hmm, maybe this metal fork will help me get the toast out of the toaster.")

The "official" projects were run by "The Committee" who determined the theme and rules for the projects, arranged prizes from various sponsors, created a "project launch" video of some sort, and also produced "The Golden Pinhead" awards ceremony at the end.  We had two types of awards.  Everyone (including friends and family) could vote on various topics, just like the Academy (Oscar) Awards, such as best music, best story, best animation, best use of a specific prop or character, etc.  In addition to that, The Committee made their own selection for the prize winners

After his birth in the Pinnacle forum, his fan base branched out to a "Video Friends Forum" run by a private individual.  That gradually faded away, and as more and more projects were done in iClone, this became his new home.  (The use of iClone is not a requirement, even now.)  There was a Pinhead web site where we uploaded our videos, but (long story short) that was closed down for various personal reasons, and the replacement site never gained traction.

One of the best things about Pinhead projects is they are a welcoming place for people of all skill levels.  Even a video with poor technical quality might win a Best Screenplay award.  But the prizes, though greatly appreciated, are always secondary to the participation itself.  Friendships form, many lessons are learned, and many times the contest guidelines take us out of our artistic comfort zone.

Projects have been covered a wide range of topics and styles:
- Silent movie
- Mystery
- Time travel (at least 50 years into either the future or the past)
- Graphic novel
- Selling a product
- One-minute story (what a challenge that is - it really makes you appreciate the skill that goes into good TV commercials)
- Holiday theme
- Pinhead gets a job
It can be very good to try a genre that's not your normal style.  You learn new things, and also gain an appreciation for other people's work that you might not have had before.


I'll close by including two 2D Pinhead videos of mine, for "historical" purposes.

It's not the first one I did, but it is now about 9 years old.



This remains one of my favorites (of the ones I did).  Pinhead has not been seen and nobody knows where he is or what he has been doing.  That was the basis for "Project 5: Where in the World is Pinhead?"  The reason I like this one is the video is exactly what I intended to make, so on a personal basis, it is very satisfying.  Short, sweet, and very Pinhead-y.

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iClone 7... Character Creator... Substance Designer/Painter... Blender... Audacity...
Desktop (homebuilt) - Windows 10, Ryzen 9 3900x CPU, GTX 1080 GPU (8GB), 32GB RAM, Asus X570 Pro motherboard, 2TB SSD, terabytes of disk space, dual  monitors.
Laptop - Windows 10, MSI GS63VR STEALTH-252, 16GB RAM, GTX 1060 (6GB), 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD

I never saw Pinhead, as referenced here in the iClone forums, before using iClone...
except, that is, for Hellraiser! 
I am wondering, it seems like a number of users make shorts with this character.  Is it an iClone character from an earlier release, or a character that came to be from the internet community?